Adjusted Funds From Operations - AFFO

What are Adjusted Funds From Operations - AFFO

Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) refers to the financial performance measure primarily used in the analysis of real estate investment trusts (REITs). The AFFO of a REIT, though subject to varying methods of computation, is generally equal to the trust's funds from operations (FFO) with adjustments made for recurring capital expenditures used to maintain the quality of the REIT's underlying assets. The calculation takes in the adjustment to GAAP straight-lining of rent, leasing costs and other material factors.

BREAKING DOWN Adjusted Funds From Operations - AFFO

Regardless of how industry professionals choose to compute adjusted funds from operations (AFFO), it is considered to be a more accurate measure of residual cash flow for shareholders than simple FFO because it takes into consideration rent increases and additional costs incurred by the REIT. This provides for a more accurate base number when estimating present values and a better predictor of the REIT's future ability to pay dividends. This is a non-GAAP measure.

Calculating Adjusted Funds From Operations

Before calculating the AFFO, an analyst must first determine the REIT's funds from operations (FFO). The FFO measures cash flow from a specified list of activities. FFO reflects the impact from the REIT's leasing and acquisition activity, as well as interest costs. FFO takes into account the REIT's net income including amortization and depreciation, but it excludes the capital gains from property sales. The reasons these gains are not included is that they are one time events and generally do not have a long-term effect on the REIT's future earnings potential.

Example of an AFFO Calculation

As an example of the AFFO calculation, assume the following: a REIT had $2 million in net income over the last reporting period. During that time, it earned $400,000 from the sale of one of its properties and lost $100,000 from the sale of another. It reported $35,000 of amortization and $50,000 of depreciation. During the period, net rent increases were $40,000, capital expenditures were $75,000 and routine maintenance amounted to $30,000.

Cash available for distribution (CAD) is a real estate investment trust's (REIT) cash-on-hand that is available to be distributed as shareholder dividends. The value is calculated by finding the funds from operations (FFO) and subtracting recurring capital expenditures.